


Bad Religion

by anticentristpropaganda



Category: The Centricide (Webseries)
Genre: Ditching school, Friends to Lovers, High School AU, Human AU, Internalized Homophobia, Just a gay ferris bueller's day off honestly, LGBT, M/M, Smoking, but mild, homonationalist isnt a fucking stereotype, religious trauma, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:34:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anticentristpropaganda/pseuds/anticentristpropaganda
Summary: He bowed his head. "But the people around me say that love is a terrible thing."Sigh. "Because I'm in love with a boy? Man? Teen-male? Penis-haver? What have you," he smiled."So I just came here to say, I guess..."Conservative took a moment to feel his spirit leave his body. He was about to violate every principle he founded himself on. All for this stupid boy? You bet.He took a deep breath."Fuck you."...Conservative takes a leap of faith and sacrifices everything to be with the boy he loves.
Relationships: Conservative/Homonationalist
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	Bad Religion

**Author's Note:**

> Homonationalist is punk instead of super femme because i think his character is kinda misinterpreted in fanon sooo here it is bitch

Bad Religion

Conservative watched gentle sunlight bathe the pews of the church. The hardwood floors were decorated with small spots of color that came in from the mosaic windows. A large statue of the Son, Jesus Christ, extended his hands outward to his children from the back of the hall. It had to be at least 20 feet tall, carved into marble. The echo of his feet ricocheted through the palace of worship as if he stepped to hard that the walls would crumble.

He gripped a candle in his palms and felt the cold metal of the dish it was in cut into his skin. It felt good. Deserving. He bled as his savior had.

He placed the candle before Jesus.

"Father, I am sorry."

He stared into his stone eyes. They remained stoic and kind.

"I have disobeyed your commandments."

He kneeled onto the unforgiving floor whole digging his heels into his legs.

"And I think I'm gonna keep doing it."

His voice broke as the sentence left his lips.

"I know you died for my sins." He paused.

"And I guess I'm sorry I don't have more self control..."

He stirred the wax about the dish, avoiding the watchful gaze of his Lord.

"But I might not be as misguided as one might think."

He itched the back of his neck.

"I'm in love..

Love is a beautiful thing."

He looked up in gratitude. "You've taught me that."

He bowed his head. "But the people around me say that love is a terrible thing."

Sigh. "Because I'm in love with a boy? Man? Teen-male? Penis-haver? What have you," he smiled.

"So I just came here to say, I guess..."

Conservative took a moment to feel his spirit leave his body. He was about to violate every principle he founded himself on. All for this stupid boy? You bet. 

He took a deep breath.

"Fuck you."

...

Conservative was strewn about his messy bed. His room was sort of empty, there wasn't much on the walls, but he liked it that way. The cleanliness of his room reflected the cleanliness of his spirit. But as of late, he had less and less energy to pick up his clothes and books off of the hardwood floors.

"Ahhh!"

A tall boy appeared in the window. It was Homonationalist. He had a goofy look on his face; attempting to assess when Conservative would wake up from his spell and look out the window.

Conservative opened the window. "Why didn't you just come in through the front door?"

Homonationalist smiled. "Cause I like to see you squirm, asshat." 

He clambered through the open frame of the window into Conservative's room, landing on the bed...

Right on top of Conservative.

The shorter boy's cheeks flushed. He hated that he liked it... it disrupted the order of things. Everything has to be a certain way. But none of this was worrying him at the time, no. He would think about that around 1:00 am when Homonationalist crept into his thoughts.

Meanwhile, he just enjoyed the show. Acting like he was indifferent.

"Hey." grinned the boy on top.

"U-uh-"

Homonationalist rolled dramatically off of the bed.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Lighten up," Homonationalist giggled.

Conservative sat up on the bed. "Sorry."

Homonationalist plopped down on the bed again, letting his legs drape over the other boy's. "So today I was thinking we could ditch class and go downtown. Sound fun?"

"Oh, uh, I dunno if I ca-"

Homonationalist slapped his arm. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

Conservative huffed. "Fine."

It might've been an empty promise, but Conservative had a hard time saying no to Homonationalist. It was enchantment, curiosity- point is he was not going to reject this opportunity.

Homonationalist climbed out of the window, onto the green lawn below. 

"C'mon!"

The other boy anxiously looked out the window. His parents would kill him! Ditching wasn't in his vocabulary. 

But he jumped out the window anyways.

The teenagers fell onto the soft pillow of grass outside the suburban home. Sunlight peeked through electric wires. The shorter boy giggled at the excitement. Something about his perceived ridiculousness of this situation was too much to contain. 

They turned to each other, admiring each other's faces in the pale light. 

Conservative was in love with Homonationalist.

He didn't know how to feel about it.

So far, the two only seemed to be friends.

But that's not how Conservative felt.

Homonationalist jumped to his feet and extended his hand to the one resting. "C'mon."

Conservative reached for his outstretched hand and propelled himself up.

"Where are we going first?"

This was the first time today Conservative had really smiled. Something about Homonationalist was almost motherly to him, like he was comfort and warmth and sweetness. A bundle of energy. And he couldn't wait for their time together.

"There's a Greyhound to catch," Homonationalist replied.

Conservative was about to take a leap of faith. He felt that the sheer curiosity and love were gonna bubble over, or just fucking explode. He had to make a move.

He grabbed Homonationalist by the hand and took off towards the bus station. Conservative was ashamed to say all he could hear was his own throbbing anxiety. His heartthrob seemed like gunfire, his palms were incredibly sweaty, and he was generally unconfident. He liked the adrenaline anyway.

The panting boys slumped onto a questionably clean bench which was accompanied by a flickering streetlamp. A colorful ad ran across the backrest, reading: "Something Wrong? Call Anh Phong! Workplace Injury Lawyer".

Conservative's head throbbed with the trouble of trying to decipher Homonationalist's reaction. His disposition was typically sarcastically smiling, but the layers of irony behind his grin were blurry and unreadable.

Homonationalist turned to him with a smile that transcended sarcasm and anger and spite, but instead offered genuine love. Conservative sat idiotically staring at him, praying twitches of muscle and subtle touches were enough to get him to notice.

As if kismet, a faded sliver bus pulled beside the curb just in the knick of time. The translucent doors wonkily slid open to invite the boys onto the dingy bus. Homonationalist pulled himself into the bus with heavy footfall, a trademark of his combat boots. 

"Hey dumbass, are you getting in or not?"

Conservative was small-ish. 5'5", to be exact. He was just... examining the jump from the black pavement to the cold steel floor, wondering how in the hell he was gonna step up. 

This time it was Homonationalist who extended his hands outward. "Grab on, idiot."

Conservative used the momentum to pull himself up and conveniently land a little too close to the taller boy. "Thanks."

Conservative dashed to the nearest available seat adjacent to a window. Homonationalist plopped in the aisle seat beside him. 

The bus ride was sort of quiet. Conservative spent the time staring out the window in fascination with the world around him, noting the multicolored leaves contrasting the industrial cityscape. He loved watching out the window while driving. 

Homonationalist sat on idly by him, rhythmically tapping his heel on the dense carpet.

Conservative continued taking in the wonders of the city. Oh, look, a naked homeless man pooping! In the opposite corner, a man with a violin angrily chased a flock of birds that had stolen his chips! The wonder of downtown.

Homonationalist lightly touched Conservative's shoulder, resting his palm on his upper back. 

Conservative couldn't suppress his smile which ate at the sides of his face. He turned to look at him, eyes creeping to meet his gaze behind his shy grin.

Homonationalist smiled back.

The pair stumbled off of the bus once they stopped at the corner of 5th and O. Homonationalist knew a great restaurant nearby.

"So, uh, what is this place anyway?" Conservative asked.

"It's this really cool diner, its got like all the 50's shit. Something nationalists like us will appreciate." 

Homonationalist took a left turn right after Conservative saw the diner.

"Whereya taking me?" Conservative asked unconfidently. 

The boy ahead stopped his casual, backward walk to give him a confused stare. "What do you think, I'm gonna fucking kidnap you? Oooooh, scary," he taunted. He made a swirling motion by his face with his hands in an attempt to imitate claws. Conservative was unamused.

"Yaknow, I have a right to be pissed. You get me to ditch school, take an hour Greyhound to downtown, and now you won't even tell me where you're taking me?" He said with a sharp tone, not one out of anger and hatred, but one of fear.

Homonationalist remained unaffected by his crabby mood. That same unbreakable confidence at play. "Quit your pissing, idiot, this is all for a reason. The real surprise is in the parking garage across the street."

The pair clasped hands, this time without the boundaries of anxiety and self-doubt. Their journey made them feel more brotherhood than acquaintanceship. They dashed across the street while avoiding the oncoming traffic. 

"Jesus, I look like a goddamn drug addict. Jaywalking?" Conservative mumbled.

Homonationalist instructed Conservative to close his eyes once they were safe inside of the garage. 

He goofily strutted over to the surprise. "Open your eyes!"

Conservative feasted his eyes on a shiny red Corvette. It had a convertible roof, and a little Jesus statue on the dashboard. "You really drive this?"

Homonationalist rolled his eyes. "Put your eyes back in their sockets, its a rental." He slapped the hand he was holding the keys in which launched them over to the other boy. "You drive."

"Only cause you would be a damn trainwreck driving," he laughed.

Conservative plopped into the driver's seat and softly touched the interior of the vehicle. He loved the black leather with its red stitching, it felt so badass. He had spent so much of his young life being a good egg, he forgot he could be a little bad if he wanted too.

But it made him nervous.

"Relax, Skipper. You're not going to hell for hitting the gas." Homonationalist smiled to no avail. "Bad joke?"

"Just shut up and let me drive," he said, annoyed. He pounded the gas pedal with his right foot and lurched the car to 50 mph out of the garage. 

Conservative swerved into the left turn lane perpendicular to the parking unit. He heard a symphony of blaring horns and outcries from drivers he had cut in front of, but he paid them no mind. His rare blind rage was just one of his, perhaps, unique components to his person.

Homonationalist turned to his left to observe his face while he drove. He had a stern look in his eyes that was ready to plow over any object that dare lay in his path. This was an uncommon stray from his somewhat passive personality, but hey, he'll take it. 

The boy behind the wheel sharply pulled into a McDonald's Drive-Thru. The convertible arched at the sudden brake, courtesy of Conservative. 

He strained with the handle to roll down his window, reflecting upon his absent muscle mass that could have come in handy at this time. He finally threw down the grey plastic and caught his breath. "I'll have, uh, Two McGriddles and a large Pepsi, and uh-" He stopped ordering and slapped Homonationalist repeatedly on his bicep. He lowered his voice to an angry whisper. "What do you want??" he asked with emphasis. Homonationalist leaned over him to place his order, which uncomfortably pinned him to the backrest of the driver's seat. "I'll have a medium iced hazelnut coffee with four extra sugar, please." He smiled smugly.

"Okay, that'll be $6.47," rang the metallic voice from the ordering box.

The car pulled forward once more to collect their food and drinks. 

"If we had gone to your douchebag diner, our food would've cost, like, five times this," Conservative shot.

"It would've cost nothing because I would've fucking paid," he returned.

Conservative sighed while taking a sip of his Pepsi. "That's not proper. I'm supposed to pay for the meal. The man is supposed to pay for it." 

Homonationalist looked puzzled. "Do I look like fucking RuPaul? What do you think I am, an attack helicopter?"

He looked over at Homonationalist. "Just- shut up. Again."

Homonationalist jokingly slumped in his seat. "Where are we going?" he asked with a pout.

Conservative massaged his temples. "Do you have any ideas?"

Homonationalist smiled with glee. "A thrift store?"

Conservative stewed in his thoughts for a moment. "Okay."

He pulled into a tight parking space adjacent to a vintage store called Ed's Threads. Homonationalist pushed the door open and welcomed the other boy inside. 

He was dazzled by the bright array of clothing that messily lined the store. Although it was a bit eccentric for his tastes, he loved the warm energy he received from this place.

Homonationalist smiled at him. "Welcome to the show."

He shook hands with the man working the register, giving Conservative the impression that his friend was an old-timer here. He wasn't surprised; He was wearing a blue button-down shirt, a white wife-beater, rainbow suspenders, leather fingerless gloves, his signature military cap, and combat boots with a thick tread. Conservative envied and adored the confidence and self-assurance he had. He himself felt drab, plain; Unremarkable compared to this remarkable individual he had once hated. The tension of the afternoon faded with Conservative's awe.

Homonationalist wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him down an aisle lined with many different jackets. "I was thinking you might like this section."

Conservative's attention immediately went to an olive green trench coat on the rack. When he lifted it by the hanger, he loved it even more; He noticed the brass buttons, the shoulder tabs, the polyester lining; He felt absolutely thrilled. 

Homonationalist grinned. "Try it on!"

He pulled the wool cloth over his arms and shoulders and couldn't suppress his smile that bloomed from ear to ear. "And because you love it so much, I'm buying." Homonationalist offered.

Before he could say no, Homonationalist yanked him up to the cashier's booth and stuck the tag in the worker's face. "We will take this, please." he said demandingly, like a general barking commands. 

The cashier scanned the tag with a sigh and announced the price. "$12.10."

Both boy's eyes widened. "Holy shit, what a steal!" Homonationalist exclaimed.

The pair jogged out of the store into a different world than the one they walked into. The once innocent, puffy clouds had sharpened and darkened. They took their fury out on the Earth, covering it with drizzling rain.

Conservative held his coat overtop both of their heads to shield them from the rain. "Can I show you something?"

Homonationalist withheld a small dose of surprise in his reaction. "I'd love that."

Conservative took off in a sprint across the busy street, dragging a reluctant Homonationalist behind him. He slowed his pace upon his arrival at the opposite sidewalk. "There's a park I like quite a bit."

Homonationalist rolled his eyes. "Aww; we get to sit in the pouring rain and be cold and miserable?"

Conservative sighed. "It's covered."

The pair continued down the sidewalk in the downpour. Conservative observed all of the strangers passing him. He always wondered where they were going, what their lives were like, what they liked to do... 

He pulled Homonationalist down a set of steep cement stairs. The taller teen felt a bit nervous about his safety, noting "There's a one in six chance we're about to get mur-"

He paused once he glanced out on the pier ahead of him. It contained several docks, each with an assorted amount of boats. Best thing- it was completely empty.

"Welcome to my secret trespassing hideout," Conservative smiled. "Lemme show you where the best part is."

They stepped under a tin roof that covered the largest dock. "You can see Rigley Stadium from here."

Homonationalist smiled. Secret, illegal hiding spaces were his shit. "Thank you."

Despite the odd beauty of the pier, it was still pouring rain and getting colder by the minute. Conservative used his new coat once again by wrapping it around his and Homonationalist's shoulders. 

Conservative felt warm again. His shoulders grazing the other boy's made it more difficult to ignore his overwhelming affection for him. But more of him was okay with it. That's specifically why he brought him here.

Just talk, you fucking idiot.

Homonationalist pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his breast pocked. "Wanna smoke?"

Conservative paused for a moment. Even though a million ridiculous reasons not to were fighting in his mind, he accepted. He was so cold, and it looked so warm and it- It didn't matter.

He took a slow drag out of the cigarette, followed by only a single cough. Albeit a nasty one.

He passed the cigarette to Homonationalist, who took a deep drag and easily exhaled the smoke.

"So, uh, I haven't really taken anyone here. Ever." Conservative awkwardly began.

Homonationalist chuckled. "Look, I'm special." 

Conservative huffed. "Yeah, I- Well I wanted to tell you something."

He could feel his heart throbbing nearly in and out of its cavity. He gave into the urge to rub his neck, a comfort of his.

He inhaled another mouthfull of smoke. "I kinda love you."

Homonationalist paused. Speak, fucking say something. Conservative was starting to panic. He already felt like a fuckup.

"Why do you think I broke into your room this morning?"

Conservative shrugged. "Cause you're eccentric and impulsive and funny-"

"Because I kinda love you too."

The world stopped for a moment. The fish took a moment to watch, the birds stopped their song, the trees stood still- It was just them. Just them that were real, that were tangible, that mattered.

The boys looked at each other in an attempt to non-verbally communicate, but what was going to happen was inevitable. Conservative awkwardly held Homonationalist's shoulders, while the other wrapped his arms around his waist. Noses, then eyes, then lips- Meeting with a fumbling, innocent curiosity. The final puzzle piece clicked into place. Their love was their bond, something that was strong, true, and beautiful, and made the birds start singing again.


End file.
